I had only seen one barrel aged tripel before I went to Idle Hands this past Saturday. At the brewery, I had two pours into my tasting cup to discover this brew. Now, I like their standard tripel, but this expression was not an improvement in my view. The crisp Belgian style did not the seem like the proper vehicle for the bourbon barrels characteristics. However, the nose was actually very enticing, and refreshing, with nice floral notes, vanilla, and clean wood. The palate did not mirror the nose, for the carbonation and yeast from the tripel seemed weighted down by juvenile soft wood/smoked notes. I kept expecting the vanilla in the barrel to properly marry with the vanilla from the malt, to transform the beer into something fantastic. The finish was muddled with the tripel dryness competing with a syrupy bourbon texture with traces of smoke; unfortunate. Nonetheless, it is very drinkable at around 10 percent, and it’s wonderful to encounter a new version of a great beer.